The Best Friend I Never Had
by Boyfrom0z
Summary: A young Dean has a friend only he can see, the young angel Castiel, who comes and visits him and watches over him and especially his little brother, Sam. But Cas can't always come see Dean and what if something bad happens to Sam? Rated for swearing.
1. Chapter 1: 1992

When I entered my room I was not surprised to find him sitting on the mess that was my bed.

"Hey," I said, dumping my backpack on the floor.

"Hello Dean" he replied cheerfully. "How are you?"

"Fine. Headache."

"I can fix it for you," he said eagerly. "I'm getting much better."

"That's really Okay, Cas."

"No, I can do it," he insisted.

"Dude, do you know how hard it was to explain to my dad why I was bleeding _purple_?"

"Um."

"I had to tell him someone threw cough medicine on me," I said, annoyed.

"Did he believe you?"

"What was he supposed to think? That a baby angel made me get a purple nosebleed trying to heal my black eye?"

"I did fix your eye."

I glared at him.

"And I'm not a baby, Dean. I'm much, much older than you are."

"I bet not if you count in angel years or whatever," I said, making sure I'd locked the door to my room.

"How old are you?" Castiel asked.

"Thirteen."

The angel thought for a moment.

"I suppose you're right," he conceded. "So what are you up to tonight? Homework?" he asked hopefully.

Cas liked it when I had a lot of homework because it meant I could hole up in my room without anyone asking questions and he could hang around.

"Naw, I gotta go out."

"Where?" he asked, his voice suddenly stern.

"With my dad," I mumbled, not looking at him.

"I don't like it when you go with him. It makes me nervous. He shouldn't take you; you're only thirteen!" He ruffled his feathers, agitated.

Castiel was very protective of me. It was annoying, but I did the same thing to Sammy so I guessed I couldn't really complain.

"He's my dad; I have to listen to him. You've gotta listen to your dad, don't you?"

"Yes, but my Father is _God_, Dean," Cas pointed out.

I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever."

Suddenly Cas was right in front of me.

"Jesus, Cas! Don't do that!"

"But I did it silently," he said with a note of pride in his voice.

"Yes," I said begrudgingly. "Very good. You're improving. But you're going to give me a heart attack one of these days."

"The point is, if something goes wrong on one of your father's jobs, I can't help you. For one thing, I'm not strong enough; for another, I'm allowed, strictly speaking."

_Here we go again._

"I mean, I'm not really supposed to be here, but it's good practice with cloaking and manifesting and such, right?"

"Yeah, you manifest great," I mumbled.

"Look, I know I'm," he sighed, "not exactly your average kid, but I have to learn things just like you."

"Not exactly your average kid?" I repeated incredulously. "Cas, if my dad knew about you, he'd want to hunt you. He'd want to _kill_ you." I knew it sounded cold and melodramatic, but I also knew it was true.

"Dean," said the angel gently. "Your father doesn't have the power to kill me."

"Doesn't mean he wouldn't try," I muttered. "Look, Cas, I gotta get ready for tonight or Dad'll be mad." I quickly started digging in my drawers for a change of clothes – something dark that I could get dirty.

"I wish I could meet your family, Dean, since there's no way for you to meet mine."

"You know that's stupid. You're so not meeting my family. Dad would go postal and Sam might tell Dad. He's a good kid, but he's still just a kid. He doesn't get stuff like this yet."

"You're just a kid," said the angel quietly.

"And so are you," I shot back. "Anyway, they couldn't even see you."

Cas had explained that the reason I could see him and no one else could was that I was special, a part of Heaven's long-term plan or something. A very small part of the back of my brain told me it was because Cas wasn't really and Dad's job had driven me freaking crazy, but I ignored that voice was the most part. When I saw Cas, he looked like a kid – more or less. His face was extremely androgynous and both childlike and ageless. I referred to Cas as a guy in my head, though he had said he didn't really have a gender the way humans do. However, he'd also said it didn't bother him if I thought of him as a boy. His hair was brown and neither long nor short. It was wavy and his face was pale, making his blue eyes stand out. He was really very pretty in an ethereal sort of way, if you were in to that sort of thing, which I wasn't, of course. The only thing that really gave him away to me was his wings. He had these big, gray wings with soft-looking feathers. I very much wanted to touch them, but I'd never asked because it seemed rude and rather personal.

"I could take a vessel," he said.

"A what?" I asked as I pulled out the old pair of dark wash jeans and the long-sleeved black shirt I wore on jobs with Dad and started to change. "Dude, don't watch me," I told Cas, who had returned to his place on my bed.

"My apologies," he said, quickly turning away.

"And don't talk like you're the queen's grandma."

"Sorry?" he tried tentatively.

"That's better," I said. "So what's a vessel?"

"A vessel is a human who allows an angel to use their body to appear to mortals in a corporeal form."

"That's creepy. And you're angel talking again." Angel talking was what I called it when Cas talked like some old-timey gentleman with a stick up his ass.

"It's the way it is. We do get their permission before borrowing their bodies."

"Hm." I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I finished changed and started to get my limited gear together. "You can look now," I told Cas.

It wasn't that I was shy about changing in front of people, it was just that Cas tended to stare, really stare. I guess it was normal since he hadn't really spent time around humans before so it was all new to him. Still, it could be unnerving. His eyes were just so _blue_.

"Is someone staying with Sam while you're gone tonight?" he asked.

"He'll be Okay."

"He's _nine_."

"And?" I asked. "It's just for the night."

"That just seems very young."

I sighed, stopping in the middle of shoveling my school stuff out of my bag.

"I know," I said quietly. I worried a lot about Sammy. "I wish Dad wouldn't leave him here alone, but I can't stay with him when Dad asks me to go and I can't very well hire a babysitter even if I did have the money, not when we stumble home covered in blood half the time. I just gotta trust that Dad knows what he's doing keeping the house safe when he's gone."

"I can stay while you're gone, if you like," Cas offered. "I can't do much, but I could tell you if something seemed wrong."

"Would you?" I asked.

"Sure."

"That'd be great. Thanks, Cas." I smiled at him in relief. It was good to know someone would have an eye on the kid while me and Dad were gone.

"Dean?" called my dad's voice from the hall. "You about ready?"

"Yeah, Dad. I'll be there in a second."

"Let me know if anything happens?" I asked Cas in a whisper.

He nodded.

I threw my things into my bag and swung it over my shoulder before unlocking and opening the door. I went into the small kitchen of our newest run-down apartment where my dad was waiting for me with a sandwich, which was very considerate for him. Cas followed, invisible to everyone but me.

I took the sandwich and was about to follow my dad out of the door when Sam appeared at the end of the hall.

"Dean? Dad?" He looked sleepy and confused.

"Hey Sammy," I said, setting my sandwich on the table and crossing to my little brother.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm just going to help Dad. We'll be back later, Okay?"

"Are you gunna be Okay?"

"We'll be fine," I assured him.

"Can't I come?"

"No," said our dad firmly from the door.

"No, you gotta stay here."

"Is it Okay without you?"

I sighed inwardly. It was a wonder we'd managed to preserve this much of his childhood. I'd seen things killed at his age.

"You'll be fine, Sammy." I knelt down to whisper in his ear. "Angels are watching over you," I said too quietly for Dad to hear. The one time Dad had heard me say it, he'd been furious. Mom used to say to me when she put me to bed. I think Dad resented the angels he didn't believe in for not saving her. I didn't resent them. I didn't know what I'd do if I didn't know Cas was keeping an eye on Sam. "Go to bed," I said straightening up. "I'll come say goodnight when I get back."

"Okay." Sam hugged me quickly and went into his room.

Dad gave me an approving look and headed out.

I grabbed my sandwich and followed. Cas caught my eye as I went.

"He'll be fine," he said in a voice only I could hear.

I flashed him a quick smile and left.

* * *

><p>We were lucky that night and were back before dawn.<p>

I ducked into the bathroom to wash the blood off my hands before slipping into Sam's room.

"Dean?" came his sleepy voice.

"We're back. We're fine."

"Nothing happened here," he told me groggily.

"Good. Glad we can count on you to watch the home front."

"Mm-hm."

"'Night, Sammy."

"'Night, Dean."

I waited a few moments before I heard his breathing become soft, Sammy snores and then went to my room.

"Nothing happened," reported Cas at once.

"So I hear," I answered quietly so my dad wouldn't hear.

"He went to sleep and pretty much stayed that way."

"He's a good kid."

Cas remembered to look away as I got into my pajamas.

"Are you and your father alright?"

"Fine. Not a hard job, for once." I made a face.

"I have to go, Dean, or I'll get in trouble."

"You'll be back soon?" I didn't like to admit it, but I really liked having Cas around. Talking entirely freely to someone outside the family was totally new to me. Well, talking entirely freely to anyone was pretty new, to be honest.

"I'll do my best." He smiled at me. "Just remember, if I'm away for a long time, it's not anything you did. I just got held up on my end."

"I know, Cas." It seemed like he told me this every time he went back home. It was sorta weird if you asked me.

"I'll see you later then."

I smirked. I was secretly very proud of how much Cas's vocabulary had improved since we'd met two years before.

"See ya, Cas."

There was a flurry of wings and Cas was gone.

I flopped onto my bed, exhausted from the night's work and fell asleep in minutes.


	2. Chapter 2: 1990

It was a funny story how I had first met Castiel.

* * *

><p>I was walking home from school alone because Sammy was home sick. My walk took me past an empty lot. I saw something fall into the sparse grass out of the corner of my eye and when I turned to get a better look I was more than a little surprised to find it was a kid about my age. I approached him cautiously, my hand on my knife, expecting it to be some kind of creature. When I'd gotten closer, I found the guy to not only be dressed in what looked like a sheet and not much else, but also to have wings.<p>

"What the hell?" was my oh-so-eloquent reaction.

"You can see me?" the boy asked, sitting up and rubbing his head.

"Um, yeah."

He'd looked crestfallen.

"Can everyone?"

"I dunno." I turned to glance at the sidewalk. No one seemed to have noticed that I was standing beside a kid with wings. "Doesn't look like it."

"You must be special then," he informed me, getting to his feet. "My name is Casitel. I am an angel of the Lord. I am not very good at flying yet."

I think I stared at him for a solid minute, at least.

"Bullshit," I said at last.

"No," Cas said, confused. "What is your name?"

"Dean. Dean Winchester."

"You are my first human, Dean Dean Winchester."

"Dean is fine," I muttered.

"Oh. You are my first human, Dean," he tried again.

"Your first human to do what to?" I asked, backing away.

"Meet."

"Oh. You're not something evil that needs killing."

"I am an angel of the Lord," he repeated.

There was a soft rush of wings and a tall, redheaded woman appeared beside Castiel, nearly giving me a(nother) heart attack.

"Castiel," she admonished. "What are you doing?"

"He can see me, Anna," Cas told her, clearly excited.

The woman stared at me as if seeing into my soul. It made me squirm.

"He is special," she said at length.

"So I hear," I said, annoyed and confused.

"Come, Castiel. We must go home before you crash land on any more humans."

Castiel quietly obeyed, but before talking her hand, he turned and waved to me.

* * *

><p>The second time we meet, he had shown up in my bedroom and had been doing the same thing every week or two for the past two years.<p> 


	3. Chapter 3: 1992

Cas was gone for almost three weeks before I saw him again. As usual, I walked into my room after school and there he was on my bed.

"Where have you been?" I demanded.

"I got-," he struggled to come up with the right word.

"Grounded?" I suggested.

"Something like that. I wasn't allowed to leave. I'm sorry, Dean, but at least it wasn't for very long."

"Three weeks is long to me," I sulked.

"Not to Heaven, though. Three weeks is nothing to us. I got really lucky. It could have been three years or three _hundred_." He gave me a pleading look that I could not resist.

"Fine," I said. "But don't do it again."

"You know I can't promise anything."

I knew it, of course, but I didn't like it.

"Do you have to work tonight?" Now Cas sounded sulky.

"No, but I probably will in a couple of days. Do you think you could come back and-?"

"Of course," he said at once. "If I'm not _grounded_." He said the word hesitantly and I nodded to let him know he'd used it correctly. "So homework?" he asked.

"Yeah. I've got a history test tomorrow on the Renaissance. It's all art and crap. You know what happened it the Renaissance?" I asked, ready to supply the answer "nothing interesting."

"Yes," said Cas at once. "The Renaissance was a period in the cultural history of humans in Europe that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th centuries. It was characterized by a resurgence of classical learning and art that-."

"Okay. Okay," I said, as loudly as I dared, just trying to make him shut up. "You wanna help me study then?"

We spent the next several hours quietly talking about the Renaissance until Sam knocked on my door asking for dinner. I think he also wanted some attention.

I went into the kitchen and made us some easy mac. I talked with Sam while we ate and Castiel sat silent and invisible on the chair that should have been Dad's.

"Is Dad coming home tonight?" Sam asked as I washed up the dishes.

"He'll be home," I said. "It just might not be till later."

Sam looked disappointed.

"He might have some time off soon," I said. It was what I told Sam was happening when Dad was between hunts.

"Really?" he asked, his small face lighting up.

"I hope so."

"Me too."

I looked at my happy little brother and wished desperately I could make it all better for him.

"You want me to put on your movie?" I asked.

"Please!"

I went into the tiny living room that joined up with the kitchen, Sam hot on my heels. He plopped down on the sofa while I set up the TV.

"Come get me when it's over and I'll put you to bed," I told him.

"Okay, Dean."

I left Sammy watching _Who Framed Rodger Rabbit,_ which had scarred him the first time he'd seen it though he liked it now. It was probably good for him to get used to scary stuff. I couldn't protect him forever.

"Your father is almost done with this job?" Cas asked when we got back to my room.

"I think so, yeah. I bet we'll be moving pretty soon too. Shame, I was almost starting to like this place."

We'd been here rather a long time, nearly a whole semester. We were subletting the crummy little apartment from some college students doing a semester abroad. They would be back soon though. Dad had worked several jobs in the area, which really wasn't very safe and it was high time we moved on. Still, it had been awesome having my own room and living somewhere with a kitchen that consisted of more than a microwave and a mini-fridge.

"Sammy's not gonna like it when we move again," I said with a sigh, picking my notebook up and sitting down on the bed. "He hardly ever complains, but I know he hates all this moving around."

"You love your brother very much," said Cas quietly.

"Of course I do; he's my brother." I shook my head. Cas said weird things sometimes. "So, the Renaissance. I think I might actually pass this test. What do you think, Cas? Cas?"

The angel did not seem to hear me. He was sitting up, his blue eyes wide and focused on some far away thing I could not see.

"Cas?" I asked again.

"I have to go," he said quickly, coming to himself again. "Pray for me when you have to leave Sam and I'll do my best."

"Okay, but why do you-?"

"I'm being called."

And with that, he was gone.

* * *

><p>On Friday, my dad told me I was going with him on the job. I went to my room to get ready and to try to call Cas. I always felt stupid praying for him, but it did seem to work.<p>

"Um, I pray to Castiel to come down here so he can keep an eye on Sammy while I'm out with Dad. Amen?"

For a moment, nothing happened. Then, with a rush of wings, Castiel appeared in my room.

"Glad you could make it," I said, somewhat grimly.

"What's wrong?" asked Cas, cocking his head to one side and looking confused.

"I'm just worried. Dad's going in with our friend Ellen on this, so it's a big one."

"Big?" Cas repeated.

"It's bad news. A whole nest of vampires. I'm worried about Sammy," I confessed, not looking at him. "I'm really worried."

"It'll be Okay," Cas assured me. "I'll look after him." He smiled at me.

"Thanks, Cas," I said, smiling at him.

"Dean? Let's go," called my dad from the kitchen.

"I'll see you later," I said, grabbing my bag and heading out the door.

"Good luck," he said.

I nodded and followed my father out the door.

* * *

><p>It was a rough night and I was very glad to know that Sam was safe under Castiel's watch.<p>

At last we staggered back to the apartment, bloody and exhausted, but triumphant. Ellen was staying with us till it was properly morning, having called Jo to let her know we weren't dead. We went up the stares and then stopped.

"What-?" I started to ask to by dad said "shh!" and I fell silent.

We edged forward and I saw the problem: the door was already open.

_Shit_, I thought, begging inwardly that Sammy was Okay.

We entered the apartment and stopped again.

There on the floor was another vamp. He was dead.

"What the hell?" Ellen whispered.

The vampire's face was burned as if his eyes and mouth had been lit on fire.

_Cas_, I thought.

"_How_ the hell?" my dad said.

I stepped carefully over the body and went down the hall to Sam's room. I pushed the door open slowly, my heart racing.

"Sammy?" I whispered.

"Dean?" Sam replied, half sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

"You Okay?"

"Fine. All quiet here."

"Good," I said. "Go back to sleep. Everything's fine."

"Okay."

I returned to the living room.

"Sam's fine. He didn't hear anything."

"Then what the hell happened?"

"No idea," I lied.

"Well, let's get this mess cleaned up. I'll call Bobby in the morning."

Ellen and Dad set about cleaning up the blood and removing the body (presumably to the trunk or Ellen's truck for further examination) and I went around the counter into the kitchen to get some water. Thankfully, I was looking down.

Cas was lying motionless on the floor, a glowing, silvery substance pooling around him on the cheep linoleum.

The door closed behind my dad and Ellen and I ducked down behind the counter.

"Cas?" I said, fear constricting my throat. "Cas? Come on, man, talk to me. Cas!"

The angel did not respond.

His flesh (or whatever it was) had been torn by nails and teeth. He had clearly fought the vampire to defend my little brother. And now he wasn't moving. Could angels die? Had I gotten Cas killed?

I was panicking, but I remembered a name and closed my eyes.

"I pray to Anna to please come and help Castiel. He's hurt and I don't know what to do. Please. _Please_, you've got to help him."

Nothing happened.

"Oh come on! Anna, please! Please come help me. Amen!"

There was a rustle of wings and the redheaded angel appeared in her long white dress that made her look rather Roman.

"Dean Winchester," she said.

"You've got to help him. Please," I said, feeling tears stinging my eyes.

Anna knelt beside Cas with me.

"What happened?" she asked.

"He saved my little brother from a vampire."

"Where is the creature?"

"Dead."

She carefully gathered Cas into her arms and stood up.

"Will he be Okay?" I asked fearfully.

"I cannot yet say," he replied before vanishing.

I was left alone to clean up the glowing, silver blood that only I could see.


	4. Chapter 4: 1994

I didn't see Cas again for over a year.

We'd moved out of the apartment and gone through countless hotels and I had almost given up hope that Cas was even still alive. I had prayed and prayed, but no one had come to give me word of my friend. It broke my heart to think that Cas had died because of me and that I hadn't even been there for him.

At least I still had Sammy.

I was in yet another school, walking down yet another hall lined with lockers when I saw him. He was standing at the end of the hall and I only glimpsed him through the crowd of students, but no human looked like that even though I hadn't seen his wings.

I took off, elbowing my way through the crowd of now rather annoyed students. But when I got to the end of the hall, he was gone.

"Cas?" I whispered, looking around. "Cas?"

Nothing.

"Goddamnit it," I muttered. I had been so sure. Maybe I finally was going crazy. It really wouldn't surprise me.

"Dean."

I just about jumped out of my skin as the angel touched my shoulder.

"Cas!" I gasped. "Jesus, Cas, I thought you were dead. It's been over a year."

"I know and I'm sorry."

"Where were you? What's been happening? How-?"

"Dean," he said in a low, quiet voice speaking quickly. "I need you to listen to me. I don't have much time." He sounded older even though he looked the same as I remembered (only without the vampire-inflicted wounds). "I'm alright and I know you and your brother are as well. Killing that vampire was very difficult for me because I'm so young. You probably saved my life by calling Anna. I killed it using my angelic powers; it's hard to explain. I've been recovering and I haven't been allowed back to Earth because of what I did – acting without orders. I would like to be able to see you more, but I can't make any promises. In fact, it is unlikely."

"Cas," I began slowly.

"There's no time, Dean. I'm not supposed to be here."

And he was gone.

* * *

><p>I stared at the place where he had been, oblivious to the world rushing past me, feeling alone and abandoned.<p>

"Are you Okay?" asked Sam when I collapsed onto the motel room bed.

"No," I mumbled, my hands pressed against my eyes.

"What's wrong? Are you hurt?" he asked, hurrying over to me.

"No."

"Then what is it?"

"Shock."

"Should I get Dad?"

"No," I said again, much more firmly this time. "I'm-. I'm fine, Sam. Don't worry."

Sam sighed, but let me be.

I couldn't believe I'd seen Cas. It had been so fast it was almost like it hadn't even happened.

All I knew what that he wasn't dead and I still missed him.


	5. Chapter 5: 1995

The next time I saw Cas, I was alone, scarred, and sixteen.

The sound of wings made me jump to my feet, ready to fight.

"Dean."

"Cas!"

"Are you well?"

"Fine. But Sammy-." I shook my head and ran a shaking hand through my hair.

"What is it?"

"He's sick, Cas, he's really sick. Dad took him to the hospital, but he made me stay here in case anyone – or any_thing_ – showed up." I looked at my friend, unable to hide my fear. "What if he _dies_, Cas?"

"He isn't going to die."

"You'll save him?" I asked, breathless.

Castiel closed his eyes for a moment, his face blank.

"He doesn't need me to," he said at last.

"What?"

"He will get better. The doctors can cure him."

"Oh thank god," I said, slumping onto the bed.

Castiel sat carefully beside me.

"How are you, Dean?" he asked.

"A hell of a lot better now. I-. I was so scared." I would never admit it to anyone expect Cas.

"You're a good brother to him."

"I try," I said with a wan smile. I really did try, but all I could do was try. I knew it was impossible for me to be what Sam truly needed. "What about you? How are you doing?"

"I am well."

"Do I have to teach you to talk all over again?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

Cas did his classic "confused puppy" face.

I sighed, but I was happy. I was so glad to have him back.

"I missed you," I said, smiling at him.

"I miss you as well."

"So what did you do while you were gone?" I asked.

"Not much that I'm allowed to discus with humans. I kept an eye on you and your brother as often as I could. I learned and did my duties. I am a more advanced angel than when I killed that vampire."

"Um, congrats?" I said uncertainly, note that he did somehow look older in a timeless sort of way. It was odd.

"Thank you."

There was a pause and I was dismayed to find it an extremely awkward pause. We never had awkward pauses before, just comfortable lulls in conversation.

"Are you ever going to leave me like that again?" I asked quietly

"I hope not," he told me, but his blue eyes were sad and I knew it was a promise he could not make. "Dean, I feel there's something I must tell you."

"Yeah?"

"One of the reasons I was kept form you for so long."

"What?"

"My superiors were rather hoping you would outgrow me."

"Outgrow you?"

"Yes. They believe that your, um, _affections_ for me are temporary at best and that we would both be better off were you to let them dissipate."

"No way!" I said at once. "You're the only real friend I've got, Cas. I'm not gonna "outgrow" that. That's just stupid."

He held up a hand to signal that he was not done.

"However, they found the impropriety to be largely on my part."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, an angel is not supposed to have emotions towards a mortal as I do towards you."

The conversation was suddenly headed somewhere I didn't think I liked.

"And what kind of, um, emotions would those be?" I asked, a little nervously.

"I do not wish to alarm you, but I believe, and, as I am unfamiliar with emotions, I could be wrong, but I believe it is love."

"Love," I gulped.

"Love," he said with that calm that just had to be angelic to be so perfect when I was freaking the fuck out.

"You're, um, you're in love with me?" This could not be happening. Please, don't let this be happening. Not with Cas.

"I believe so."

"No," I said after a pause, getting up slowly and backing away. "No."

"You believe I am wrong?"

"You can't be in love with me," I said, shaking my head.

"Why not?" he asked, also standing.

"You just can't be."

This was really freaking me out. Cas could not be in love with me. He couldn't be. If he was in love with me than I-. No. No, I wasn't going to think about that. Cas was an _angel._ That was just all kinds of wrong.

"I should go," said Cas, looking hurt.

"No, Cas," I said quickly. "Don't." I reached out as if the grab his hand, but stopped myself. For a moment my hand hovered stupidly between us and then I let it fall.

"I believe that this is _awkward_," he said in the tone he reserved for human slang.

"Yes," I confirmed.

"I should go," he said again.

"Wait," I said quickly. "I want to-, to give you something," I said in a stammering rush.

"What is it?"

"Come here."

Castiel stood before me with an inquisitive look on his smooth, androgynous face. I took a deep breath and, before I could talk myself out of it, kissed him full on the mouth.

"I love you too, Cas," I whispered.

The angel stared at me in shock.

"This-," he began shakily. "This cannot be." He took a few stumbling steps back. "I am sorry, Dean. I truly, truly am."

He was gone.

* * *

><p>That night I had the strangest dream.<p>

I was writing a very long, complicated story on a blackboard and a redheaded woman was erasing it almost as fast as I could write it down. As she caught up with my writing, I began to write faster and faster because the story was getting more and more important to my continued existence and I had to get it out before she erased it. But then she caught up with me and kept on erasing, wiping away the future of the story and it was all I could do to save Sam from the zombie alligators.

I woke up drenched in sweat and shaking, awash in a feeling of terrible, terrible loss. Try as I might, I could not remember the story.


	6. Chapter 6: 2008

The first time I met an angel, I was twenty-nine.

His name was Castiel and he gave me the saddest look with strangely familiar blue eyes.


End file.
